Slashers Podcast

We are keeping this flying saucer spinning until the damn tractor beam falls off here for 2001: A Space Augusty. All month we are doing alien content and we hope you think it's... out of this world. 

...don't worry, the jokes on the episode are better than that. 

This week, Producer C.H.A.D. swings by to talk about Paul Verhoeven's sometimes misinterpreted masterpiece, Starship Troopers. Verhoeven is obviously a master of satire, but it seems audiences mistook Johnny Rico as the American Jesus instead of a cautionary tale of the follies of fascism. 

Writer, Ed Neumeier, previously worked with Verhoeven on Robocop and this reunion is nothing short of gory, tongue in cheek bliss. We talk all about how Neumeier allegedly was working on an idea called, "Bug Hunt at Outpost 9," which was retconned to be an adaptation of Robert Anson Heinlein's 1959 novella.

The film stars Casper Van Dien as the citizen hopeful, Johnny Rico. Van Dien uses the "Freddy Got Fingered" defense in explaining why the film was a financial flop. Find out why his reasoning is rather sound in the episode. 

Denise Richards plays Carmen Ibanez, who does not play any kind of guitar despite her namesake. Luckily, there is still a stringed instrument played by Jake Busey. That's right. It's the neon violin, which is tacky, terrible, and tantalizingly schlocky. Clancy Brown and Michael Ironside deliver what Jake contends are their top tier performances. 

Basil Poledouris does the music, and while not his most rousing score, it gets the job done. His daughter also gets a cameo.

We talk about the sequels which vary wildly in quality from super bad to just kinda bad. Neumeier continued to direct, but even legendary effects maestro, Phil Tippett, helmed an installment. Did you ever watch Roughnecks? Because we briefly talk about that show too. Briefly. 

We spend a bit more grey matter and time on the Starship Troopers comic books, one of which was written by Transmetropolitan writer, Warren Ellis. 

This week's "Hidden Track" is Night Cobra with their song, Escape from Earth. Please fine and support them here: https://nightcobra.bandcamp.com/

If you ever have feedback or recommendations on future episodes,  please let us know at [email protected]. You can always find us on  our social media: Instagram, Twitter, Slasher App: @slasherspod  Facebook: /slasherspod Reddit: u/slasherspod  https://www.youtube.com/c/slasherspodcast

You can find our merch, and links to all our online presence here: linktr.ee/slasherspod

Theme song is I wanna Die by Mini Meltdowns.  https://open.spotify.com/artist/5ZAk6lUDsaJj8EAhrhzZnh ;  https://minimeltdowns.bandcamp.com/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As we continue our bold adventure of 2001: A Space Augusty, trekking through all alien content, we talk Mars Attacks! 

The film was directed by visual maestro of the macabre, Tim Burton (Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Pee-wee's Big Adventure). We talk about his original vision of the film, and his aspirations for a stop motion masterpiece. 

Writer, Jonathan Gems, wrote not only this film, but also its novelization. He wrote the ill-fated, Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian.

The film stars Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Annette Bening, Danny Devito, Martin Short, Sarah Jessica Parker, Pierce Brosnan, Michael J. Fox, Natalie Portman, Jim Brown, Pam Grier, Jack Black, and about 50 other people. Did you know they somehow conned Frank I'm-the-voice-of-every-cartoon-you've-ever-seen-including-Megatron Welker into a booth to yell "Ack!" into a microphone?

The original cards were the product of Len Brown, Woody Gelman, and legendary artist, Wally Wood. The franchise started off as a card collectible, but spun off into tons of comic crossovers: Godzilla, The Savage Dragon, Super Sentai Power Rangers, Popeye, Miss Fury, Star Slammers, Ghostbusters, Chew, Madman, Transformers, Spike, Strangers in Paradise, Zombies v. Robots, Rog-2000, Judge Dredd, Dinosaurs Attack, Munchkin, Bojack Horseman, and Red Sonja.

Speaking of unsuspected crossovers, did you know how the film overlaps with the works of Howard Stern? Or how about this, did you know Alex Cox tried to get the film made back in the 80's? 

We also have an in terview with Gwar co-founder, Hunter Jackson, aka "Techno Destructo." We talk about everything from his hot sauce brand, to his pro wrestling career, with tabletop gaming and his hatred of Star Wars in between. Support him at https://houseofhuntar.com/

This week's "Hidden Track" is The Voyage by Thurnin off their record, Menhir. https://thurnin.bandcamp.com/album/menhir ; https://www.facebook.com/Thurnin-2253470771426493/

If you ever have feedback or recommendations on future episodes,  please let us know at [email protected]. You can always find us on  our social media: Instagram, Twitter, Slasher App: @slasherspod  Facebook: /slasherspod Reddit: u/slasherspod  https://www.youtube.com/c/slasherspodcast

You can find our merch, and links to all our online presence here: linktr.ee/slasherspod

Theme song is I wanna Die by Mini Meltdowns.  https://open.spotify.com/artist/5ZAk6lUDsaJj8EAhrhzZnh ;  https://minimeltdowns.bandcamp.com/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Let's give this another go shall we? After penning what was actually an admittedly gnarly episode description to kick off 2001 A Space Augusty, it was all lost. Let's see Jake parody himself. *cracks fingers*

This film is James Gunn's directorial debut, after writing for Troma with such films as Tromeo and Juliet and Terror Firmer, then Scooby Doo for Warner Bros. He went on to do Guardians of the Galaxy and after he was thoroughly swagger jacked by DC with their feeble Suicide Squad from 2016, he returns triumphantly to the house of Warner to grab that franchise by the ears and make mouth love to. The Suicide Squad comes out this week, fun coincidence. 

Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Castle) plays Bill Pardy and will be returning to work with Gunn as The Detachable Kid ("T.D.K."). Similarly, Michael Rooker, who plays Grant Grant in this, will be coming to the DC Extended Cinematic Universe as Savant. 

We talk about Elizabeth Banks' career, comedic chops, and how she may have played the part of Rita Repulsa, she did not look it, if you catch our meaning. 

We also talk Gunn's burgeoning directing style in this and how he stayed clear of troops by some of his collaborators like Zach Snyder, whom he penned Dawn of the Dead for. 

The effects in this film are stupendous and blend CGI and practical elements seamlessly. We talk about how the marketing materials failed the film in this regard, because the quality film you get is not depicted in the promotion. 

Did you know that James Gunn was in a band called The Icons? They do not appear on this soundtrack, but they did make it onto his sophomore film, Super. The music for the film was actually done by Tyler Bates, who has done everything from Tammy & The T-Rex to the John Wick trilogy. . . (yes, I am purposefully leaving out the Rob Zombie Halloween films). 

Last, we talk about all of the references to classic films such as The Thing and Big Trouble in little China with the Mayor, Jack MacReady, Tremors with the high school being named after Earl Bassat, Slugs, Shivers, The Brood, Night of the Creeps, Society, and even manga with Uzumaki by Junji Ito.

This week's "Hidden Track" is Out Front by Life Force off their album, Hope And Defiance, on New Age Records. It features a vocal spot by Tim McMahon of Mouthpiece/Hands Tied/Search. They will be playing Promcore festival at The Vanguard in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on October 22nd and 23rd. Follow them here to see what shows they post 'til then! https://newagerecords.net; https://lifeforcehc.bandcamp.com/music

If you ever have feedback or recommendations on future episodes, please let us know at [email protected]. You can always find us on our social media: Instagram, Twitter, Slasher App: @slasherspod Facebook: /slasherspod Reddit: u/slasherspod https://www.youtube.com/c/slasherspodcast

You can find our merch, and links to all our online presence here: linktr.ee/slasherspod

Theme song is I wanna Die by Mini Meltdowns. https://open.spotify.com/artist/5ZAk6lUDsaJj8EAhrhzZnh ; https://minimeltdowns.bandcamp.com/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Little reminder about this often-maligned gem from the 90s, it takes place in DINOhattan, the perfect backdrop for our last episode in Julyssic Park. Find out how we rank this film compared to Jurassic Park, Carnosaur, and Tammy & The T-Rex. 

Super Mario Bros was directed by husband and wife duo, Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel. We talk about their interesting methods and what stars Bob Hoskins (Hook, Who Framed Roger Rabbit), John Leguizamo (Spawn, Land of the Dead), and Dennis Hopper (True Romance, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2) had to say about them... spoiler alert, it wasn't good. 

Did you remember that Fisher Stevens (Short Circuit 1 & 2) is in this? He and Richard Edson (Platoon, Howard the Duck) have tremendous chemistry. Listen close to find Jake's spinoff pitch for these two. 

The film also features Mojo Nixon as Toad. Did you know that he got Winona Rider to be in his music video for "Debbie Gibson Is Pregnant with My Two-Headed Love Child"?

Finally, we have to talk about Fiona Shaw as Lena, who gives off MAJOR Elizabeth Bathory vibes...

Did you ever wonder what Super Mario creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, thought of the film? Well, we'll tell ya! Along with tons of video game trivia like how Pauline is Mario/ Jumpman's first girlfriend from Donkey Kong!

If you need about 20 minutes of more Mario, you can find the Morton Jankel Cut by Garrett Gilchrist here: https://archive.org/details/super-mario-bros-1993-the-morton-jankel-cut-extended-vhs

Speaking of fan-made labors of love, did you know there was a web comic sequel to the film to try to sate the crippling thirst for more you had when Princess Daisy kicked down the apartment door with a new mission?! Find it here, because we definitely talk about it! http://www.smbthecomic.com/comic/page-1/ The script is by original writer, Parker Bennett alongside Steven Applebaum and Ryan Hoss. Applebaum and Hoss are the editors for http://www.smbmovie.com, and their knowledge and love for this film are staggering. Art by Jack Forbes and Eryk Donovan. 

We were fortunate enough to sit down with Destin from The Expeditioners Discovery Guild Enterprise to talk about which creature he thinks would make the scariest dinosaur. We also talk about how fossils and bones are not the same thing! Stop saying that! Find and support him here: https://www.facebook.com/EDGEonthetrail ; IG @edgeonthetrail ; and youtube.com/c/TheExpeditionersDiscoveryGuild for some amazing dinosaur and cryptid content!

This week's "Hidden Track" is The Agonizers with their song, Driving Home. Download their EP FO' FREE here: https://theagonizers.bandcamp.com/album/the-agonizers-self-titled-ep IG: @the_agonizers; FB: @theagonizers; See 'em live 7/31: Apeland - Holyoke, MA, 8/13: 33 Golden St - New London, CT, 8/21: Hutghi’s at the Nook - Westfield, MA, and 9/11: Cherry St Station, Wallingford, CT.

If you ever have feedback or recommendations on future episodes, please let us know at [email protected]. You can always find us on our social media: Instagram, Twitter, Slasher App: @slasherspod Facebook: /slasherspod Reddit: u/slasherspod https://www.youtube.com/c/slasherspodcast

You can find our merch, and links to all our online presence here: linktr.ee/slasherspod

Theme song is I wanna Die by Mini Meltdowns. https://open.spotify.com/artist/5ZAk6lUDsaJj8EAhrhzZnh ; https://minimeltdowns.bandcamp.com/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People often ask what media we hosts enjoy when we are not watching horror schlock for this show. Jake's all time favorite YouTube channel is https://www.youtube.com/c/YourDinosaursAreWrong

Luckily, we get a chance to speak with host, Steven Bellettini, on this week's episode and discuss what dinosaur he thinks would be scariest. We also touch on tokusatsu, animation, and our other obsessions. 

We then have the thrilling pleasure of discussing Tammy and the T-Rex, or Tanny and the Teenage T-Rex, depending on who you ask. The film was film directed by Stewart Raffill and written by Raffill and Gary Brockette. Raffill's grandson, the late, Paul Walker, stars as a kid who gets his brain put in a dinosaur robot for nefarious purpose by Terry Kiser as Dr. Gunther Wachenstein.

Denise Richards plays the titular Tammy. She is joined by Theo Forsett as Byron Black, who is a scene stealer in the film. 

We talk about how the film came to be, other films of the genre, and touch on some of the inaccuracies of the Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Also, our wonderful host, Adrienne, just released her first book, Last Call: A Toxic Love Story. You can snag a copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Last-Call-Toxic-Love-Story-ebook/dp/B099NZRRSG/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&qid=1626668465&refinements=p_27%3ASantiago&s=digital-text&sr=1-2

If you send us proof you bought a copy of her book, we will give you free access to every Patreon bonus episode we have ever recorded. 

This week's "Hidden Track" is Mice on Stilts with their song YHWH. Please support them at https://www.facebook.com/miceonstilts/ and https://miceonstilts.bandcamp.com/

If you ever have feedback or recommendations on future  episodes, please let us know at [email protected]. You can always  find us    on our social media: Instagram, Twitter, Slasher App:    @slasherspod Facebook: /slasherspod Reddit:    u/slasherspod https://www.youtube.com/c/slasherspodcast

You can find our merch, and links to all our online presence here: linktr.ee/slasherspod

Theme song is I wanna Die by Mini Meltdowns.    https://open.spotify.com/artist/5ZAk6lUDsaJj8EAhrhzZnh ;       https://minimeltdowns.bandcamp.com/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hold onto your -- oh, wait -- this episode is about the entire CARNOSAUR franchise, not Jurassic Park. Silly me.

Welcome to our second week of Julyssic Park and join Jake, Doug, and Ade for their various thoughts on Roger Corman’s Carnosaur.  But we don’t stop there!  We also discuss Carnosaur part 2, Carnosaur part 3, and the two “bastardizations” that follow the trilogy -- Jake’s words, not mine-- Raptor and The Eden Formula.

The original installment, Carnosaur, was loosely based on the 1984 novel Carnosaur by John Brosnan, under his pseudonym Harry Adam Knight. It is no coincidence that these initials spell "HAK." Brosnan also wrote several books on cinema, most notably: The Horror People (1976), The Primal Screen: A History of Science Fiction Film (1991), and Scream: The Unofficial Guide to the Scream Trilogy (2000)

While this film series isn’t as widely idolized nor recognized as Jurassic Park, both the movie and novelization pre-date Michael Crichton’s better known dinosaur creations.  

Find out what Eric Roberts has to do with all of this, why Roger Corman is so damn cheap, how the 3 Stooges and Mad TV play into our conversations, and finally ending on titty talk (don’t ask, but now you gotta listen).

We also include a special interview with the Dino Geek himself, Tony Campagna. You can follow him on instagram: @thedinogeek and @thedinogeekscollection

Please also check out his wonderful e-book, available free here: https://www.whydinosaurs.com/thedinogeek

No Hidden Track this week, because I left my laptop charger on our family vacation and I am posting this with only 3% battery!

If  you ever have feedback or recommendations on future  episodes, please let us know at [email protected]. You can always  find us    on our social media: Instagram, Twitter, Slasher App:    @slasherspod Facebook: /slasherspod Reddit:    u/slasherspod https://www.youtube.com/c/slasherspodcast

You can find our merch, and links to all our online presence here: linktr.ee/slasherspod

Theme song is I wanna Die by Mini Meltdowns.    https://open.spotify.com/artist/5ZAk6lUDsaJj8EAhrhzZnh ;       https://minimeltdowns.bandcamp.com/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is perhaps one of the toughest movie reviews we have ever done: Jurassic Park, a legendary film that has been dissected frame by frame for nearly 30 years, since it came out in 1993.

No pressure in reviewing arguably Steven Spielberg's best creature feature, right? No one could ever fathom a scenario wherein they could yell at the hosts through their stereo for leaving out trivia, but also for including too much trivia, right?

How do your hosts think this film compares to Jaws? Were there similar technical complications? 

The screenplay was adapted by David Koepp (Spider-Man, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Mummy) from Michael Crichton's novel. We address the similarities with Crichton's other theme park fiasco film, Westworld, and the rebooting of that franchise. 

We talk the performances of all the actors. Sam Neil (Event Horizon, In the Mouth of Madness, hunt for the Wilderpeople) stars as Dr. Alan Grant, a paleontologist and unwilling nanny. Jeff Goldblum (The Fly, Independence Day, Thor: Ragnarok) is the chaotic Ian Malcolm. Laura Dern (Wild, Marriage Story, Blue Velvet) is the amazingly rare female action star, counter to Neil's Grant. 

Richard Attenborough (Gandhi) stepped out of acting retirement to play Hammond. B.D. Wong (Mr. Robot, Mulan), who has finally gotten some attention in the sequels, still is memorable in his expository scene about how the dino-sausage is made. Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction, Star Wars, and basically every Marvel film), embodies every sane person who has ever worked alongside a nitwit and for a capitalist. 

Finally, Wayne Knight (Seinfeld) is the most loathsome character on film, and we love him for it. 

We delve into all of the multifaceted special effects and their creators: Stan Winston, Phil Tippett, Dennis Muren, and Michael Lantieri. 

We also talk about the paleontological experts on set, Robert T. Bakker and Jack Horner, one of whom served as inspiration from Dr. Grant (Neil). Through them we talk about the accuracies, inaccuracies, and dinosaurs onscreen: velociraptor (deinonychus), dilophosaurus, brachiosaurus, gallimimus, parasaurolophus, triceratops, and finally Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Luckily, we balance out the review with a discussion with our dear paleontology pals, Dinosaurs Will Always Be Awesome. They can be found at https://dwaba.org/

Support the artists for this week's "Hidden Track," Dûrga. The song is called Roots and it is a recuperative experience for that crumpled up black thing you call a soul. You can find them here: http://wearedurga.com/; https://www.facebook.com/wearedurga/ ; @wearedurga Their favorite dinosaur is triceratops, so why not listen to their album three times?

If you ever have feedback or recommendations on future episodes, please let us know at [email protected]. You can always find us    on our social media: Instagram, Twitter, Slasher App:   @slasherspod Facebook: /slasherspod Reddit:   u/slasherspod https://www.youtube.com/c/slasherspodcast

You can find our merch, and links to all our online presence here: linktr.ee/slasherspod

Theme song is I wanna Die by Mini Meltdowns.   https://open.spotify.com/artist/5ZAk6lUDsaJj8EAhrhzZnh ;      https://minimeltdowns.bandcamp.com/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy Pride Month, Week 4!!!

This month has been an absolute blast; we’ve explored everything from a questionable Al Pacino, to Wendy Carlos’s brilliance, to the creator of Scream and Dawson’s Creek.  For our final week of Pride Month, we are celebrating the life and creations of one James Whale.

James Whale is the director of some of your favorite Universal Monster favorites, such as The Invisible Man, Frankenstein, and Bride of Frankenstein. Whale, himself, lived a fascinating life--he was a prisoner of war in World War 1, theatre director, and has been a pillar of the horror community and the pop culture surrounding our favorite pre-assembled Mary Shelley zombie. See what I did there???

We are so excited to share this episode with you; along with some personal tidbits involving vas deferens that, I hope, will pull you in to listen as you read this blurb that no one ever reads, anyway.

Don’t forget to let us know your thoughts when you’re finished. Love us? Hate us? Let us know in a review! We’ve got a lot of good shit coming next month; sad to see this month is almost over, but happy to look forward to our topics to come.

This week's "Hidden Track" is Beach Creeper with their song, The Phantom of the Boardwalk. Check out their other work here: https://beachcreeper.bandcamp.com/track/phantom-of-the-boardwalk ; https://www.facebook.com/beachcreeper/

If  you ever have feedback or recommendations on future episodes,   please   let us know at [email protected]. You can always find us   on our social media: Instagram, Twitter, Slasher App:  @slasherspod Facebook: /slasherspod Reddit:  u/slasherspod https://www.youtube.com/c/slasherspodcast

You can find our merch, and links to all our online presence here: linktr.ee/slasherspod

Theme song is I wanna Die by Mini Meltdowns.  https://open.spotify.com/artist/5ZAk6lUDsaJj8EAhrhzZnh ;     https://minimeltdowns.bandcamp.com/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy Pride Month, goons. In this second outing (yes, pun intended) we are doing a career retrospective of Wendy Carlos. Carlos is an incredible innovator of electronic music, whose work was influential in their design, and the implementation of the instruments themselves. 

You may recall her work with Stanley Kubrick on A Clockwork Orange, adapted from Anthony Burgess's 1962 novel, and The Shining, adapted from Stephen King's 1977 novel. She also went on to provide the score for Tron, both electric, and leading an entire orchestra. 

Then, we move on to Jennifer Aspinall, and amazing makeup artist, whose work basically formed Jake's brain at age 3. You may know her for her work on The Toxic Avenger and Street Trash. Her career is much more expansive and in this interview we discuss everything from her work on Mad TV from the very first to the very last episode, and her upcoming work on Westworld. We also discuss the impact that shows like Face Off and social media have had on the industry. 

Find and support Jennifer online at http://www.skinsaverlotion.com/ and https://www.jenniferaspinall.com/

This week's "Hidden Track" is I'm Alive by Vicious Dreams. https://viciousdreams.bandcamp.com/ 

If  you ever have feedback or recommendations on future episodes,   please   let us know at [email protected]. You can always find us   on our social media: Instagram, Twitter, Slasher App:  @slasherspod Facebook: /slasherspod Reddit:  u/slasherspod https://www.youtube.com/c/slasherspodcast

You can find our merch, and links to all our online presence here: linktr.ee/slasherspod

Theme song is I wanna Die by Mini Meltdowns.  https://open.spotify.com/artist/5ZAk6lUDsaJj8EAhrhzZnh ;     https://minimeltdowns.bandcamp.com/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices